Talk at the Conference on Intellectuals Called by the Centre

January 20, 1956

Source: Long Live Mao Zedong Thought, a Red Guard Publication.

The target plans of all the departments should be practicable what can be
and should be done but has not yet been done, is [due to] rightist conservatism;
what is ill-founded and completely unworkable and yet is being done, is [due
to] a blindness or 'leftist' adventurism. In my view this [the leftist
adventurism] is not the general orientation of the whole party although it
is detectable. Some comrades are a bit wooly and dare not say that they are
being realistic because of the ugly label of rightist conservatism and
opportunism. If they examine and study [things carefully] , [they will be
able lo] say or insist on saying what cannot be done. What cannot he done
should be deleted from our plans so that they may rest on a solid, reliable
basis.